


His Kid

by misty7books



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Damian Wayne Feels, Dick Grayson is Damian Wayne’s Parent, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, and he just absolutely goes off at Bruce it's amazing, he's not a bad parent but he just isn't trying to get to know Dami, omigod guys Dick really freaking loves Damian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:09:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28775856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misty7books/pseuds/misty7books
Summary: "Dick, if Damian's going to be Batman’s Robin, he’s going to have to learn these things. It isn’t your place to make that decision.”Dick saw red.“He was my Robin first!”-Dick has always guiltily seen Damian as more of a son than a brother. Not wanting to get in the way of Bruce and Damian's father-son relationship, he fled to Blüdhaven the moment Bruce came back from the 'dead'. But Bruce had never been interested in learning to get along with Damian, and his kid would always be Dick's first priority.
Relationships: Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne
Comments: 18
Kudos: 369
Collections: Dick Grayson is Damian Wayne's Parent





	His Kid

Dick stood in the Batcave after patrol one night (or early morning, more like).

It had been a standard night in Blüdhaven, but there had been an incident in Gotham so he had hopped on over to help out. He ended up having to save Damian – _his heart was still racing, the blood in his veins roaring with the desire for vengeance, because that was **his baby** that had been in danger_ – since he had made the average mistake of underestimating his opponent, something all of them had done before.

But as usual, whenever Damian made a mistake, he was treated with above average derision from the others.

So now Dick was standing in the Batcave while Bruce, still in costume, was admonishing Damian for what happened. Damian, to his credit, was silent as he took it all in. Jason and Tim were sitting by the Batcomputer, Tim typing away and Jason watching Bruce and Damian as if he was longing for some good toffee popcorn. Stephanie was doing homework next to Tim and Cass was ignoring everyone while she stretched.

Dick couldn’t understand how they could just sit there and not give a damn for the little boy being told off unreasonably by his father. He was shaking badly from holding himself back from doing something he’d regret.

“You need to learn that your actions have consequences,” Bruce frowned down at Damian, his voice stern. “You need to learn to listen to my orders.”

“Bruce, you can’t just order him around!” Dick finally protested, stepping forward and wrapping an arm around Damian’s shoulders. That was one of the reasons Dick had left, after all. Bruce had never given him any freedom when Dick had wanted some more trust and freedom. Anyways, he thought that Bruce was being unreasonable. Damian had improved so much over the years, and now at thirteen, Dick could just cry with pride for his son- no his brother, damn it. He didn’t want to feel like he was stealing Damian from Bruce.

“While I gotta agree with you, Dickiebird, I thought you’d be on B’s side, seeing as you were the B-man for a while,” Jason said offhandedly.

Dick sighed harshly, frustrated. Tim’s eyebrows shot up at the sound. “I _hated_ being Batman. It was awful. The only part of the job I actually enjoyed was spending time with Dami.” Damian leaned against his side further, and Dick melted with love for this sweet boy who just wanted affection but was afraid of rejection.

“Nonetheless, he needs to learn to obey,” Bruce said stubbornly.

Dick glared at him, outraged. It was as if the others had forgotten that Damian had grown up in the League of Assassins, had grown up learning to obey orders no matter what. They hadn’t seen him drugged with fear toxin, hallucinating Ra’s Al Ghul and mechanically doing everything Dick told him to do, picturing his cruel tyrant grandfather in place of the brother – no, the father figure, he admitted – that loved him and would do anything for him.

“Bruce, that’s not what he needs to work on.”

Damian looked up to Bruce, worshipped him from the stories his mother had told him from a young age. But Damian didn’t trust him, not with his life and his problems and his fears, not like he trusted Dick. Damian needed love and trust, not orders.

“If he’s going to be Robin, he needs to listen,” Bruce insisted.

“If he can let go of his pride for once,” Tim snorted into his coffee cup. Stephanie somehow high fived him while simultaneously looking disapproving.

With every insult and misunderstanding thrown Damian’s way, with every mistrustful look from Bruce and inciting poke from Tim and teasing but rude nickname from Jason, Dick grew more and more protective and angry. He was lucky that Damian was made of tougher stuff, but no one was invulnerable, and he could tell how much the comment hurt Damian by the tenseness of his shoulders. He squeezed him harder.

“That too,” Bruce nodded, the ‘World’s Greatest Detective’ not noticing his son’s sadness. “Robin is a prestigious title. Dick, if Damian's going to be Batman’s Robin, he’s going to have to learn these things. It isn’t your place to make that decision.”

Dick saw red.

“He was my Robin first!” Dick burst out. He was unable to hold it back any longer.

Everyone except for Damian reeled back, surprised by the venom in Dick’s voice.

Bruce’s eyes widened with understanding. “You see him as your child.” Well done stating the obvious, Bruce.

Dick had never said anything to him specifically, wanting Damian to have a good relationship with his father, but it was obvious that Dick did everything a dad did and he couldn’t deny that he saw Damian as his own son. He had seen him grow from a murderous and masterful assassin to a sweet and lovable little boy. Still well-trained, scary when he wanted to be, and truly awful at social interaction, but not the monster that the others never stopped seeing him as.

He knew that Damian saw him as a father figure, Dick didn’t have his head _that_ far up his ass. He just didn’t know if Damian could ever say as such out loud. Some things were best left unsaid. But he could keep quiet no longer.

Tim smacked himself on the forehead.

“Why did you never say anything?” Bruce questioned, looking lost.

Dick shrugged, holding himself defensively under the stares of the others. He soaked in the warmth from Damian’s side hug. He held him closer. “I had years of time spent with my dad, and even more time spent with you, Bruce. I wanted Damian to have the chance at having a father. It’s why I ran away to Blüdhaven when you came back. So I wouldn’t get in the way.”

Bruce nodded, looking impossibly old. “You should have said something. It’s understandable that you would feel that way seeing as you _did_ raise him while I was gone.” Bruce patted Damian and Dick on the shoulder each. “But Damian did have a father, _you_.”

Dick looked up tentatively from where he had been staring down at the ground. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had thought Bruce would be angry.

But he had a mission, and he was like a dog with a bone – relentless.

“So you see how I know Damian better than all of you? And how I was his Batman for a while?” The others nodded, not wanting to earn any more of Dick’s ire. It isn’t often that he got angry like this. “I do think I know best when it comes to knowing how he needs to improve.”

Bruce looked like he was about to fight back, but then he just sighed. He looked down at Damian. “You made a mistake, but you can work with Dick to improve.”

Damian conveyed no emotion as he nodded – the proper little soldier, much to Dick’s sadness – and Dick tugged him further to his side and rubbed his thumb where it was on his arm.

“C’mon, baby,” Dick said softly. “Let’s go change and get some hot chocolate?”

He had introduced Dami to the drink back when it was just them, one snowy Winter. Damian had seen snow before, on mountain tops where he had trained, but it was still a rarity and a treat for someone who had grown up in the heat, so they had sat in silence on a window seat in the library, hot chocolate at hand and snow dancing in front of them. It had become one of their secret traditions, and Dick treasured it, as he did with everything about Dami.

Damian nodded, not looking in anyone’s eyes, before running off to change.

Dick would follow in a second. First though, he turned to the others and frowned, still feeling bursts of anger running up his spine.

Tim understood immediately what he wanted. He groaned and slumped in his seat. “Do we _have_ to apologise?”

“None of you have acknowledged how far Damian had come these past few years,” Dick insisted, intensely passionate. “All you see is a threat and an assassin, instead of the thirteen-year-old boy he is. He’s kind and sweet when he wants to be and he deserves an apology from you for not even trying to get to know him. The reason he’s so cold with you all is because he doesn’t trust that you even care. ‘Cept for Cass, of course.” Damian respected her for her abilities and she treated him similarly.

Bruce looked heartbroken under the never-changing frown. Good – that was the point.

Jason looked upset too. “The lil’ brat thinks we don’t care about him?”

Dick gave him a look. “Seeing as you call him a brat with every other sentence, I’m going to have to go with a yes.”

Nodding reluctantly, especially with Cass’ gaze on them all, Tim groaned, “Fine, we’ll apologise tomorrow. I’m guessing you’re going to be with him for the next few hours?”

Dick nodded, dark expression clearing. “Yeah. It’s not fun being chewed out by a parent. We’re going to have some chill time.” He turned to Bruce and touched his shoulder in thanks for the acceptance he gave. He would have seen Damian as his own child no matter what, but it was good to be accepted. He just wanted that for Damian too. “Night, guys.”

He ignored the chorus of ‘goodnight’s and rushed to change. He didn’t want to keep his baby waiting.

Finding freshly made hot chocolate topped with marshmallows in the kitchen, Dick gave Alfred a small smile and a thanks, before carefully running to the library. As he had thought, Damian lay nestled under a blanket by the window, a lost look on his face.

Noticing Dick there, he clicked his tongue. “There was no need for the theatrics, Grayson.”

Dick’s heart swelled. This little boy didn’t believe himself worth it. He would just have to prove him wrong, then. “You deserve it and more, Dami. I love you.”

Damian peeked from beneath the blanket and cautiously took hold of his hot chocolate and sipped at it. Dick copied him. They snuggled in silence, Dick not wanting to say anything while Damian had that thoughtful look on his face.

Eventually, as the sun began to rise and the sky turned pink, Damian asked quietly, “Did you mean it?”

Not needing to ask what he meant, Dick immediately answered, wrapping an arm around Damian. “Dami, I’ve seen you as my son since before Bruce came back,” he admitted. Damian shuffled closer and leaned against him. Dick stroked the boy’s hair, feather soft and a reminder of a lonelier time. “I never stopped.”

“I too see you as a strange sort of father figure.”

Dick kissed him on the forehead. “That’s okay. It makes me very happy, and Bruce apparently doesn’t mind.”

Dami took another sip of his hot chocolate, the marshmallows already melted to nothing. He looked adorably awkward as he pressed his forehead to Dick’s shoulder and muttered, “I’m happy too… Dad.”


End file.
